“Ghana experienced three difficult years characterized by declining economic growth, increasing inflation rates, rising debt levels and financial vulnerabilities. In 2014 economic growth reached its lowest level in many years, with non-oil GDP growing at 4.1 percent, in the context of high interest rates, a fast depreciating currency, low aggregate demand and a deepening energy crisis. Inflation reached 17 percent, well above the central bank’s inflation target. Large fiscal deficits caused by a ballooning wage bill, poorly targeted energy subsidies and commodity price shocks pushed government debt and financing costs to very high levels, and made the economy more vulnerable to roll-over risks, despite the implementation of corrective measures in the last couple of years. These domestic imbalances resulted in a weakened external position and pressures on the exchange rate, with net international reserves covering just a few days of import coverage in September 2014, before rebounding on account of the issuance of a Eurobond and a syndicated loan obtained by the Ghana Cocoa Board.